His Sweet Peach
by HarvestGirl10
Summary: Ikarishipping. Every Christmas, Dawn makes everything feel extra special around the house. This year Paul is determined to find the perfect gift for his wife. She couldn't possibly outdo him again this year...could she? My Ikari Secret Santa gift for ShesPeaches!


Hello everyone! Here is my Ikari Secret Santa 2018 gift for ShesPeaches on the Ikari Discord server :) I hope you all enjoy it and have a wonderful holiday! 3

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She was everything he wasn't.

Bright.

Cheery.

Sweet.

Just like a peach.

How the fates have brought them together he had no idea.

How someone like him could be blessed with someone so pure he had no clue.

All he knew was she actually agreed to marry someone like him, and it wasn't until a year or two after their marriage, that he noticed all these little things.

Like how it truly was a curse to feel inadequate to the one you love. Especially around the holidays.

These thoughts came to him almost every year.

He would watch as she fussed around their home with twinkling decorations, that special sparkle in her eyes.

And he would watch as she baked cookies, burning the gingerbread just slightly enough to prove to everyone they weren't store bought.

The efforts she put into the holidays every year truly did surprise him.

As a young couple still working on their own careers, where did she have the time to make everything so damn special? From the decorations to the cookies and all the little surprises she plants along the way, how could he possibly give back to her all she's given him?

It was really a joke.

 _I'm sure whatever you pick out is fine!_ His brother's happy attitude was no help to him at all.

 _C'mon Paul, Dawn would love anything you get her!_ Ash was absolutely no help either.

As he roamed the nearby department stores and peaked into almost every window, the search for the perfect present grew dimmer and dimmer. Paul couldn't help but grit his teeth. Out of all the battles he fought, all the training he endured, this feat alone was the most challenging.

He would do anything to rewind the clock right now.

Anything that would give him more time to find the perfect present.

But alas, as time ticked away, shops were closing one by one and Christmas was rapidly approaching. It was almost too much, yet another Christmas without the perfect gift until…

Paul noticed something sparkle in a nearby window.

It wasn't anything fancy. Nothing too bright. Too tacky. But just perfect enough.

A silver charm bracelet with a peach ornament dangling off its side.

When he looked at the bracelet, he saw the sparkle in his wife's eyes. The sweetness in her smile. The smooth song of her voice. It wasn't the world, but it was close enough.

Just enough.

He drove home that evening with the gift in tow, holding it preciously beside him as he approached their front door. It was odd, this heavy feeling in his chest, and he couldn't quite tell if it was from sheer excitement or his own self-doubt. How Dawn did this every year without any sign of nerves was baffling.

No matter what it seemed, she really was the strongest of the pair.

When he took those first few steps into the door on Christmas Eve, he was almost stunned Dawn didn't embrace him like she always does. Instead, there she sat across the living room by the fire…and upon her face she wore an expression so different from her own.

Nervousness.

Paul placed his bags down by his feet. Dawn quickly stood up from her place and took coat, his hat, anything it seemed to keep her fingers busy. At a glance, one may think it was her usual excited behavior. However, as Paul watched the tingle in her lips, he could tell she was anxious.

He had to do something. Anything to bring any sort of calm to his usually chipper, peachy wife. As much as he hated to play the doting role, _he had to_.

But before he could even reach for the bracelet, before he could even get a word in, Dawn stopped him.

 _Stop! I have a present for you first!_ She shouted, almost too quickly. She grabbed him by the hands and pulled him by the fire. Alongside the twinkling lights of their Christmas tree, a small present laid neatly wrapped. She wouldn't even let him touch it right away. Taking in a deep breath, Dawn exhaled slowly before handing the gift over. Why his wife had to fuss over such a small gift, Paul had no idea.

He unwrapped it painfully slow to her liking, yet, he kept his eyes on her as he peeled back the layers of wrapping paper.

One by one.

A small box soon was revealed.

Slowly, Paul opened its lid.

Before quickly, widening his eyes.

He looked back up to his wife, who was smiling from ear to ear. Tears of happiness twinkling from her eyes.

A little gesture. A little gift. _A little plus sign._

Time just stood still for the two.

Right before Paul pulled his wife in for a sweet, sweet kiss.

As it remained true every year.

No matter what he did, she had him beat.

 _Except this time…he didn't mind at all._


End file.
